


Stannapped

by highwayKing



Series: Stannapped [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Gen, Injury, Inspired By Tumblr, description of violence, life threatening situation, most character have only minor role
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-08
Updated: 2016-09-18
Packaged: 2018-08-13 21:03:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7986115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/highwayKing/pseuds/highwayKing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The past has an uncanny ability to always come knocking at the worst possible time. But to one Stanley Pines this visit from the past wasn’t only in poor timing, but of malicious intent as well.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. No Clean Business

**Author's Note:**

> (Excuse the bad title, but I didn’t know what to name it and this is what got stuck with it)
> 
> A long, long time ago there was a post here on tumblr that inspired the birth of this fiction. At the moment there are two other fics inspired by the same post that I know about which are Locked Away (finished) and Ignorance is Bliss (currently ongoing).
> 
> If you haven't read them already here are the links if you want to check it out.  
> Locked Away: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6640735/chapters/15192364  
> Ignorance is Bliss: http://archiveofourown.org/works/6053392/chapters/13877983
> 
> So this is my own two cents, it's quiet long and I'm very proude about how it turned out.

There are no clean businesses in the dark. The two men, one elderly the other young, shook hands in a dark room. The street outside was quiet and through the blind only a lonely lamps light could get inside the ratty motel room.

The young man was well dressed in a suit and a tie, although the ocher color was a bad decision in taste, but in the dark it wasn’t noticeable. He ran a hand through his slick hair and handed over a file to the elderly man. This one looked worn down, greasy, he was more fitting for his surroundings than the young man.

He opened the documents looked at it then smirked.

The young man was handed his money and he could leave in peace and quiet. He didn’t had any regrets for what he had done and rest assured, he is going to sleep sound at night with a reasonable amount of cash stacked away in his safe.

The other man remained in the room longer. He turned to the two companies he had in the room with him.

“We have an address, boys,” he said grinning. “You know what to do.”

“Of course, boss.”  

The boss took one last look at the document in his grip, inside were the information on a long dead man who turned out wasn’t as much six feet under as he thought he was. But if he had anything to say about it that won’t stay that way for long.

 

It took quiet a lot of paper works and more explaining (and lying) but Stan and Ford could finally sort out their identity. It was necessary if they wanted to purchase a sailing boat legally and not be landed in jail at their first encounter with the police. But they managed it and now could enjoy the quiet for a while.

Stan was anxious to go, but Ford wanted to stay in Gravity Falls for a bit more. He was still worried for Stan’s memories and wanted for more of it returned before they set sail. Stan shrugged and told him its fine by him, but Ford could see the childish excitement in his eyes every time the subject came up.

They had already purchased a nice little boat, thanks to McGucket who was glad to support their research as it is between good friends. It was waiting for them in a small town harbor ready to be loaded with the equipment Ford was adamant to bring with them.

So they had the papers sorted, they had a boat, Ford was picking out the machines and supplies they needed and Stan was surly regaining pieces from his past. Things were looking good.

Ford was leaning over a to do lists spread out on the kitchen table when Stan walked in.

“Hey. I’m going to get groceries. Anything particular that you need?”

“No, nothing,” Ford said chewing on a pencil. “Actually yes, we ran out of coffee.”

“ _You_ ran out of coffee. You drink it like it’s the elixir of life.”

“It’s the elixir of work, if you want to know.”

Stan snorted at the hurt little look Ford gave him. “But seriously, you have to tone it down. It can’t replace actual sleep. I’m no genius, but even I know that.”

“Please, Stan, get some,” he said on a pleading tone, like a child asking for cookies.

Stan rolled his eyes, but he agreed to get his brother the fuel he needed to keep on going. He took the car key and his wallet and was out the door. Ford could hear the start of the old engine of Stan’s car, he couldn’t believe it that he could keep it for forty years and that it was still running.

He returned to his lists and dug out the one with the basic supplies written on it. To the bottom of the list he wrote coffee. He had to make sure he didn’t run out of it so that nothing would interrupt his research.

 

Stan arrived to the mall. The parking lot was deserted, but what could you expect from a Monday forenoon. Most of the people were in work and those who would eventually go to the mall won’t get there until afternoon so there won’t be a big crowd in there.

That was more than fine with Stan.

After the whole incident he had been basically pampered by the people. He liked the attention, but time to time it could get a little too much. Thank heavens that the folks could get a cue and back off. But it would be amazing if he could do this without any awkward conversations and guilt at that disappointment in their eyes as he told them he still couldn’t remember anything about them.     

Thankfully he had been speared of that this time. He still greeted the scarce people that were scattered around the mall, but it was nothing that he couldn’t handle.

He got lost once; he still wasn’t used to the place.

The cashier was really nice and wished him a good day. Stan actually paid this time; he wasn’t really getting how he used to shop lift. He doubts that he could get away with it as he was right now. He couldn’t even remember his tricks.

The stuff he bought filled two plastic bags to the brim. Stan carried it across the parking lot not even minding who was around him. After all, the only people there were him and two guys whose faces he couldn’t recognize casually chatting away beside a rust colored old car, something that Stan imagined they might have got straight from that Gleeful’s or what’s he called auto shop. Poor suckers.

He reaches his own car ready to get home and catch a rerun of the Duchess Approves. Ford still teases him for it, but this time he is going to make him watch it with him whether he wanted it or not.

A sharp pain spread in the back of his head tackling him to the ground.

The groceries all spilled out on the ground before him. He heard talking above his head that through the pain he couldn’t decide if it was real or the telltale sign of a memory hanging on the edge of his consciousness too stubborn to show themself.

It happened once or twice that a surge of returning memory sent him crashing to the ground to everyone’s horror. He remembered it not so fondly. He had such a bad head ache all day that he had to put ice on it. Ford didn’t let him go anywhere alone for three days.

Stan grabbed the back of his head, the source of the pain. However when he pulled away he found blood smeared on his palm.

Oh hell no.

He jumped up but another blow of a metal pipe sent him hurling against his car open for attack. Another blow landed on him, this time on his soft stomach, Stan groaned in pain and tried to curl in on himself trying to protect his weaker parts. The next two swings caught his arm which was better but still not the best.

At the third blow however Stan grabbed the pipe. He could tell that his attacker didn’t expect that as he jerked back the pipe and Stan with it.

Stan slipped on a chocolate bar that fall from the bag and he landed on his knee.

This wasn’t the best position to find yourself in, but Stan didn’t let go of the attacker’s weapon. He also used the time to get a good look at guy.

The guy on the other end of the pipe was a big muscular mess with unruly hair and tanned brown skin. He was dressed simple, mundane so that he wouldn’t be memorable to anyone. But Stan recognized him; he had seen him only moments early at the rust colored car chatting with-

A bony fist collided with his jaw sending Stan once again to the ground.

Two strangers were standing above him now that the hulk’s pal decided to join in. He was a leaner and smaller man, but he too had some muscle to himself. That sadistic grin wasn’t absent from either of their faces.

Stan raised his hands to protect his head from any more damage but he didn’t try to get up just yet. “What do you want from me?”

They ignored him. Instead the brute turned to his friend. “I thought he would be tougher than that.”

“Don’t ya start coplainin’ now. This could be the easiest job we got yet.”

“I know, I know. I was just hopin’ for a little more fun ya know,” the brute said gesturing to Stan with the pipe. “There ain’t no fun in this.”

“What?” the second smirked. “Are ya feelin’ guilty for hitting the grandpa?”

“Nah,” he said and to drive home the point he smashed the pipe against Stan’s side. Stan screamed loudly, this was the worst one so far, he couldn’t remember feeling pain like that before not by memory, not by experience.

The leaner man looked around for possible witnesses. He turned back when he saw no one around.

“Hey, leave some for me!”

 

Stan couldn’t even lift a finger once they were done with him.

It was just his luck to be caught like this. That was proven further when no one came to his help. He tried to fight them off but he had little chances of him actually succeeding. Both guys were bigger than him, he was out of shape, out of practice and most importantly what gave them the biggest advantage was that they were enjoying it. More than a normal person should, actually.  

Stan laid on the ground, blood was dripping from his probably broken nose, his face was all bruised up and no doubt that the rest of his body was the same as well.     

Not five minutes passed from the beginning of the attack and they already managed to ‘put him to his place’ as they phrased it. It was a real miracle that no one came across them yet, but they didn’t seem that worried.  

The big guy discarded his pipe. It clattered on the ground; Stan didn’t even see where it stopped. He grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him across the parking lot to their car. Stan could see from the corner of his eyes that the other guy went ahead. He heard him open the trunk.

When he was pulled up the guy was waiting for him with a long line of chain in hand and an evil grin on his face. He wasted no time and started to tie him up while the brute held him down when he tried to struggle. They laughed at his effort.

“Why- why are you doing this?”

They laughed again.

“Cause we are paid handsomely for ya, grandpa!”

“Ya sure can regret messing with Rico way back then.”

“Who?” Stan genuinely asked, but it only earned another whole hearted laughter from the thugs.

“Man, this is just sad, I tell ya,” said the smaller between laughs. “Sad, sad beyond words.”

“The boss sure didn’t tell that he had gone senile. Forgettin’ Rico is a big no-no.”

“I told you I have no idea who this Rico guy is,” Stan struggled once again against his bond. “Let me go, I beg you. If its money you want we can talk about it.”

“Sorry fella. Nobody can outbid Rico. He got far too many contacts for that and I ain’t gonna risk my neck for an old timer.”

“It is how it is,” the brute said lifting Stan up from the ground seemingly with ease. “Let’s get this over with.”

“What are you going to do with me?”

The shorter man completely disregarded the question as he tied a cloth around his mouth gaging him.

“Ah nothing’” the brut said the he literary threw Stan into the trunk. Stan looked around confused. The trunk was odd. Metal plates were screwed on every side of it; he couldn’t understand why that would be needed. He was lying in an uncomfortable position in which he landed, and it was chilling inside.

“Familiar, ain’t it?”

Stan looked up at his attackers.

“Hope ya have a nice ride,” the leaner man grinned then he slammed the trunk on him, locking Stan in and leaving him in darkness.

A minute later the engine started up and the force of the car making a turn threw Stan around in the trunk making him hit the metal. The sounds of the wheels were loud against his ears and every bump made him hit his already bleeding head harder against the metal.

But the worst was that Stan was lost in his own mind, the familiarity of the situation was buzzing behind his eyes but he couldn’t put his fingers on it. He knew, but at the same times he didn’t. He was left with an uncertainty pain and fear and the only thought that could bring the slightest comfort was that this time he wasn’t alone. This time he had Ford, his brother the genius. He soon will notice hi is missing and he will come for him.

He surly will come for him. Stan just hopped it wouldn’t be too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The story had been posted on my tumblr page for a time now, but I'm posting here where I think it has a chance for more exposure. If you don't want to wait for it to be posted here you can check it out, the link leads to the first chapter from there you can find your way around.
> 
> http://highway-king.tumblr.com/post/149461746726/stannapped-part-1-no-clean-business
> 
> I will be posting one chapter on a daily basis, and I will hurry to be consistent this time.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed and if you did I hope you will come back for more  
> Until then, take care.


	2. On Pursue

When Ford looked up from his work two hours passed.

He frowned at the clock. Sure that can’t be right, Stan hadn’t returned yet and he only left a moment ago. Or was that an hour ago? Funny how you can lose track of time so easily.

Ford stood up and stretched. Stan must have returned by now, maybe he just didn’t notice.

He went to the living room, but unfortunately he didn’t found his brother there. Ford turned on the TV experimentally and just as he thought that old black and with movie was on, the one Stan was so adamant on watching together. He smiled at the thought of his big and though brother liking the kind of movies that their mother used to spend time mindlessly watching while she waited for the next call. It was oddly sweet.

As much as he dreaded sitting through this thing with his brother, Ford started to become slightly worried that Stan didn’t showed up. This was his favorite show beside that detective duck thing, right?

Ford decided that he won’t take chances. He should walk to town in case Stan was held up by something. Maybe he simply got lost or another surge of remembrance made him to stop and rest. Either way, he wasn’t that worried, the people were nothing but the nicest, they sure can take care of Stan if he needed anything. Then again his brother was the most stubborn man alive that he knew, so who knows what he is up to.

Walking into town didn’t take too much effort; he could use the fresh air anyway. However, he didn’t run into Stan like he hoped he would.

Ford remembered Stan saying that he is going to the mall which was a little further away from the central so he had a way to go. On the way Ford came across of many friendly faces. He greeted them and inquired about Stan, however they told him they didn’t saw him today which was a little disappointing. Then, finally one nice lady told him that she had seen Stan in the mall shopping not so long ago.

That brightened Ford’s mood immediately and his steppes carried lighter.

At the mall he immediate noticed Stan’s car in the far end of the parking lot all by itself. He was about to move along and look for his brother inside when he noticed some cans around the tiers of the car.

Ford’s sharp mind immediately started turning its gears. It could be nothing, just some idiots littering and Stan being too lazy or not caring enough to pick it up. But his instincts couldn’t help but to keep him on edge. Ford reached to his belt, yes he had his gun with him and he was ready to use it in case he found anything remotely dangerous.

He didn’t waste his time sneaking up to it. As of now there no sign of having any company in the parking lot, and if there was they couldn’t be anything more but harmless civilians. He didn’t want to scare them by acting all suspicious. Like he said this could be nothing.

Ford turned around the car it felt like the ground was ripped out from under his feet.

Two bags worth of groceries was spilled on the ground, the plastic bags were still there, pinned down by whatever remained in them. Some of the items were destroyed in what Ford identified as a scuffle.

Ford dreaded that he would find Stan laying on the ground unconscious or worst, but with him nowhere in sight he had the right to be terrified. On the other side of the portal he had become keen on reading tracks, but he didn’t have to be an expert to see that his brother had been the victim of an attack and more than likely was abducted by said attackers.  

Who? Why? Ford was beyond lost. Who would want to hurt his brother? He knew he wasn’t the best person, no one tried to deny it. But after Weirdmageddon he doubted that there was anyone left in Gravity Falls who would want to harm Stan. Then again, this could be the work of a stranger, an outsider ignorant of what had gone down in the little town, spontaneously attacked and old man who was, in their perspective, in the right time at the right place. Or what, if there was someone from his brother’s past, a more dangerous factor that they hadn’t taken into consideration since Stan had nothing to remind him of potentially harmful people.

It sickened him. It made his blood boil with rage that there was someone who decided to go after Stan right when everything was working out between them, when they had survived the end of the world. That they think they can just waltz in here and kidnap anyone. Well, then they have another thing coming. They messed with the wrong big brother.

Ford pushed down his anger and tried his damnest to remain objective. He can find Stan in no time if he only remained calm. It was difficult, but he can unleash all his anger on the perpetrators once his brother is safe.

Ford turned his full attention on the crime scene. For a minute he considered calling the cops, but that could take too long, he was better off doing this alone.

The way the groceries were scattered indicated that a fight did indeed took place here. Some of the bags got damaged when something heavy was placed on them, most likely fallen. Among the spoiled remains he spotted droplets of blood.

Ford became grimmer at the sight.

On the side laid a pipe that was most likely sawn off of something. Ford leaned over to investigate, but he avoided touching it in case he would ruin some useful evidence. There was blood on it as well.

He didn’t have to guess to know whose blood it was. Ford silently made a vow to torture those bastards on ways that are outlawed by a hundred eighty dimensions.

Following the crimson drops that had now dried on the concrete Ford was led to a parking place where the trail suddenly ended. That only could mean one thing. Stan was put in and driven away by a car that was standing here.

That left Ford with little to no clues as of where they have gone. If the ground wouldn’t have been made of concrete but remained the natural dirt ground he might have been able to find some tire tracks or some kicked up dust that might tell him which direction the kidnappers have left. But now he only had common deduction skills to help him.

The mall wasn’t positioned in the center of the town, it was built more on the side and the main street that entered and left Gravity Falls was just beside it. Common sense dictated that the kidnappers more than likely left town the fastest way possible, meaning this road.

Ford wished that he would have had more evidence then that to start on. But he couldn’t waste his time with uncertainties; he either had to take what he got and role with it, other options weren’t acceptable.

Stan’s car was here, it could be useful. Ford searched for the key in hopes that Stan had accidentally dropped it on the ground. However, things couldn’t have been that easy, there was no sign of any key so he had to improvise a B plan, hot wire the Stanmoblie.

He used a can to break the driver seat window to open the car. Stan won’t like what he was doing, but he would have plenty of time to apologies for that.

Ford had learned how to hot wire cars in a dimension that was fairly similar to theirs with the only exception that its inhabitants were lizard people rather than regular humans. He was relieved that the cars had the same mechanism as those otherwise he would be losing precious time.  Soon the El Diablo came to life and was ready to go. Ford grabbed the wheel and turned out of the parking lot going in the direction he hoped his brother was taken. Meanwhile he was a nervous, frightened wreck fearing for his twin’s safety.

 

Things couldn’t have gone worst. Here he was all chained up and stuffed in the trunk of a car that for some reason had metal plates welded into the inside making the tiny space freezing cold and extremely uncomfortable.

Stan was looking for a better position to lie in so that he wouldn’t cut of circulation from his arms, but that was easier said than done. He barely had any space for himself to fit, turning would have been a miracle to accomplish.

However, he could move his legs. Barely since they were bound at the ankle with the same chains that were cutting into his arms and chest, but there were still enough space for him to move. Since he discovered it he had been kicking the side of the trunk. He won’t go down without a fight, even if that fight seemed useless.

He secretly hopped that he could make enough noise to annoy his captors and have them stop and potentially have them open the trunk. What he would do after that he had no idea, but it was certainly better than waiting in uncertainty.

Sadly, Stan’s kicks had little effect on the metal. It didn’t even made as a loud sound as he had expected, maybe it had something put in between to muffle the sound, the bastards. Even if that was the case Stan Pines won’t give up that easily. He kept on kicking since he had no other options. He only hopped that it won’t all be in vain.

Suddenly his feet hit something softer than the plate. He only had to angle his legs a little back to find it again.

It seems like they have missed a spot. Stan kicked what he could identify as the brake lights with all he had got, which wasn’t much because he didn’t have the momentum he needed. If he had he would have kicked the thing out on the first try.

It cracked. He definitely heard it.

 Stan started kicking more viciously then before, the light was cracking more and more until it finally fell away and one of Stan’s legs dangled out on the hole he had made. His shoe probably got caught in the edge for it suddenly slipped off and was gone. He can feel the cold wind rushing though his shoeless feet.

Suddenly the car jerked and Stan was slammed against the side. The rode become rockier as it was shaking him like a child would a wrapped box to find out what the surprise was inside. Only that Stan wasn’t too happy with this new arrangement as he kept banging his head against the bottom of the trunk. It was hurting enough already but now the sensation was renewed and stung a hundred times worst then before.

They must have turned to a dirt road, and one hell of a bumpy one at that.

Wherever they were taking him couldn’t be in the town, they probably left Gravity Fall’s a long time ago. But they haven’t traveled long enough to reach the next. The bumpy road could only mean that they were driving into the forest.

He didn’t know why. Stan understood less and less from the whole mess. Why where these people after him? What did they want? And why was this happening right now when everything was going just perfect? Was he cursed or something?

That headache was becoming more unbearable. He had to get out of here, he had to escape or… he didn’t even knew what would happen if he didn’t.

He hoped Ford was looking for him. Surly his brother noticed that he was missing by now. He was gone for, what? One hour? Two? Three? It was kind of hard to tell all locked up as he was. But he was certain that Ford is out there looking for him, he just had to survive until then. Whatever these guys throw at him he could stand it. In the end he would be the one who laughing at the side line while his brother zapped the heck out of them with his fancy nerd gun.

Man, that’s going to be so sweet. He only wished that they were there already.       

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is the second chapter, I hope you enjoyed it :)


	3. Really Out of Luck

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, we are only three chapters in and I already have two returning readers! You guys make me so happy, you can't even imagine!

While driving like a mad man Ford also hurried to keep an eye on the road before him. Not just to prevent a possible accident but also to keep an eye out to any clue that might lead him to where Stan was.

At the moment his chances weren’t too high. He was speeding through the highway that was strangely desolate – for that he was thankful for – without knowing if he was even going in the right direction. The road appeared to be swept clean, no clues about where Stan could be, not even a car for miles and Ford started to chew his own lips for stress relief.

With nothing happening his treacherous mind had enough time to come up with every worst case scenario in the book. He couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen if he didn’t found Stan, or if he was too late and only stumbled upon his brother’s cold body after hours of fruitless searching.    

Ford hated himself for having so little faith in his brother. He knew that he wasn’t a kid, that he could take care and protect himself until he caught up with the kidnappers. But he also knew that he was hot headed and he wouldn’t be surprised if he managed to get more on the guys’ bad side then he already was.

He tried to chase away those thought but it was useless.

There was something on the ground. Ford slammed the brakes so hard he thought the car would topple over itself. 

He threw the door open and ran to the unidentified object that was spread on the concrete. Upon closer inspection it turned out that it was a break light broken to pieces by the impact with which it met the ground. A little further up ahead he found a single shoe that was caught in a piece of the former lamp and had gathered quiet the dirt on its way.

Ford took both objects in his hands and carefully inspected them.

The shoe was Stan’s there was no question about it. He had seen him wear it countless times before. But what was it doing here stuck to a broken break light? That was quite odd.

Then it clicked.

Maybe Stan had kicked the break light out. That would explain why his shoe and the lamp were found at the same place. That’s how he lost it.

But that means that Stan had to have access to the light at the back of the car and there wasn’t many models that allowed that. Then this could mean only one thing: Stan was stuck in the back of a car, meaning the trunk.

Anger returned to Ford. If he hadn’t been sure that he is going to hurt them horribly before now he was absolutely certain about it. But he returned to his calmer self. He couldn’t afford to lose his head right, he had to resume searching.

Looking up ahead Ford could see that a dirt path had branched off of the main road.

Not wanting to lose precious time he hurried to the road to examine it. He was anxious about what he would find. In his opinion he had slightly better chances to find Stan in the forest since there were lesser places to hide or lesser factors that he would need to take in consideration. The tracks would be hidden much harder in a place where every branch and blade of grass could break and give away your position unlike in the clean block jungle that was the city where hundreds were passing by and you could disappear in an instant.

This knowledge saved him many times while dimension hopping and running from countless bad guys who were after him. In lush jungles he could hide with ease, but in a pine forest like in Oregon, not as much. He always preferred the cities, the heart of civilization where he could be simultaneously seen by everyone and no one at all, where there were countless alleys to slip in and back rooms to hide. Thinking about it would be foolish if the kidnappers chose to go to the forest instead of the city, but then again maybe someone kicking in the trunk might draw to much attention.

Ford kneeled down in search for any kind of mark in the ground.

To his surprise he noticed faint disturbance in the dust in the shape of tiers. That dust was delicate and the marks could be destroyed by literally the slightest of breeze, so it must be new.

He had no idea why the kidnappers would go this way, but the kicked out lamp and Stan’s shoe was found here and not even speaking of the skid marks he had only now noticed looking back.

Ford ran back to the car that had the engine still running. He stepped on the pedal and speed down the road deep into the forest. If those bastards were in there then he is going to find them and when he does they are going to wish that they weren’t even born.  

      

Kicking the side of the trunk led nowhere even if there was already a sizable hole on it. All that hole did now was to let in cold air and chill Stan’s shoeless feet even more.

The ride got bumpier then a roller-coaster, his wounded head was bouncing against the bottom and black spots started to appear in his vision. Stan had no idea why when his eyes were already so well adjusted to the darkness. He pulled on his chains, but they only bit into him harsher for the tiniest movement. It felt like he was being smashed by both the trunk and the chains.

If only there was a way for him to get out, but there wasn’t. His captors didn’t care; no amount of banging could get them to pay attention to him. They only drove through what Stan assumed to be a forest. The sinking feeling kept on growing in his stomach; he wished that the ground would open up and swallow him whole so that he wouldn’t have to face whatever these two had in store for him.

He would even feel better if something happened finally. They were driving for ages, and while Stan had lost concept of time as soon as he was landed in the trunk he still could guess that they were moving for one, maybe two hour or so. Maybe less since fear has the tendency to make time crawl at a snail’s pace.  

Stan really hoped that Ford was looking for him. Right now he really needed a little helping hand. And, even if he would never admit out loud, he really wanted that helping hand to be his brother’s. He prayed for Ford to hurry as if willing enough would somehow make him appear out of thin air and snatch him away from this tiny place far from these strangers.

The car came to a sudden halt, the motion still in Stan’s body made him collide with the side of the trunk. Thankfully he didn’t hurt himself that much this time.

Stan heard the doors open the slam shut shaking the whole vehicle. Dread flooded his chest; he instantly regretted wishing for anything to happen. Now he wanted to have the familiar bumping of the car as it speeding down on the endless road. As maddening as that was, it was still a hundred times better than to feel his heart nearly bursting out of his chest.    

They were around the trunk, he could hear them moving about.

“Damn it, he broke the light!”

“Why da heck do ya care? It’s not like they gonna find ‘im. Make yerself useful and start pushin’.”

Pushing? Why would they need to push and what? Stan’s questions were answered the moment the car started to move again, this time at a much slower pace.

This was bad, really bad. Stan started trashing around again, bumping his shoulder into the lid with all force in the faintest hope that it would do something. All he got was laughter from the other side and the car kept on going.

Soon he heard water splashing at the front. Stan’s eyes widened. He started fighting even more if that was possible.

This couldn’t be what he thought it was. Maybe his mind was playing tricks on him, or maybe they just want to scare him and in reality they are only pushing the car through a mud pit and he was panicking over nothing. But after several minutes water started seeping into the trunk through the hole.

Stan decided that it was good time to panic.

He started to trash around once again, but it was little help. Those two bastards hit on the lid just for fun, he could hear them laughing at him and treading insults about him. The car tilted down and the water started to gathering in the corner. They weren’t kidding. They are going to push him into a lake in the middle of nowhere. He is going to die, drown in seconds and he would never see Ford or the kids again. And the worst was that they won’t even know what happened with him.

Suddenly they stopped. The car rocked a little as if his captors had trouble moving the things. Stan realized that the car must have gotten stuck in some rock.

“Get it movin’ already!”

“It won’t move!”

There was some more huffing and pushing. Stan could feel them rocking the car back ad forth, but even he knew that it won’t do anything.

“Ah, let’s just leave ‘im here. Who would find it all the way out a here?”

“At least I wanted to do this right.”

“He is goin’ to bite the dust eventually,” he slammed the lid of the trunk, it made Stan flinch. “Ya here that! Ya’re dying one way or another, Pines!” he kept on hitting the lid right above Stan’s head. He tried to pull away from the sound before it makes his headache worst.

And what do you know; his buddy had to join in as well.

Now two pair of fists were banging on the lid of the trunk creating a cacophony of bangs that seemed to hit Stan straight in the brain. However, even stuck there covering from the terrible sound just inches from his head he still managed to hear the jeers along with their laughs.

“This is the end of the line, old man!”

“We had a nice quick death in mind for ya! Looks like it won’t work though!”

“That’s just yer luck!”

“Ya will get there eventually! Ya got time, after all!”

“Good luck, starvin’ to death! Or freezin’ to death! No one is goin’ to find ya here, ya can bet on that!”

“Who would look for an old geezer like ya, anyway?”

Ford would, he was certain about that. He kept that one thought close to himself, not letting it go at any cost. It helps him stomach all their comments and made the coldness of the water more bearable.

The banging soon ceased. Stan started to listen to any other noises.

“Come, we should go.”

“Yeah, yeah. Just wait a minute.”

There was some tinkering around and the splashing of water as the guy moved around the car. Then he heard a great splat further away as something was thrown into the lake.

“Was that really needed?”

“I don’t want the people knowin’ what they are lookin’ at. Throw them off ya know.”

“Whatever.”

Stan heard them walk out the lake then for some time while their talked among themselves. Then they were gone. He couldn’t hear anything, not even the birds were chirping at this part of the forest. He wished to scream, he really did, in frustration or in hope that some unfortunate camper might hear him and frees him, or if Ford was nearby to sign him where he was. But he didn’t have the energy for it, his mouth was dry and the gag tight in place didn’t let him utter anything more than a muffled ‘uhm’. And that wouldn’t catch anyone’s attention.

His best hope was that someone would come around and see the end of a car poking out of the lake and would call for help. When would that happen, he had no idea, but he would have preferred it sooner than later. Later would mean that they are only going to pull about a bluing corps from the water.

Now that he mentioned it… was the water always reaching up to his neck?

No, it wasn’t. It all gathered in the corner from the car’s tilted angle it was nowhere close to his face.

That could only mean that the car was sinking. It was slowly slipping into the lake. Maybe they did manage to get whatever got the car stuck to budge, they just didn’t notice it. However it was, the trunk was slowly filling up with water and there was a big hole, his own handy work to help the process along.

Stan started fighting again. He won’t go down so easily, he won’t let these bullies have the last laugh.

 

Meanwhile, somewhere in the forest a red El Diablo give up on the scientist’s noble journey to save his brother and stopped as it finally run out of fuel.

Ford tried to get the car work again, but he could do nothing but to slam his head on the wheel in frustration.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I quickly uploaded this for you to enjoy, me and my family are going out to the forest for a picnic, so you know that if I don't post tomorrow something ate me.
> 
> Joking aside, I really hope you enjoyed reading, chapter 4 comes tomorrow.  
> If I'm still here.


	4. To Dust

Ford ditched the car. Who would stole it out here in the middle of the forest? He got out and left it there promising to come back for it with someone when he got Stan to safety.

Now, searching wasn’t exactly the easiest. The tier marks showed on the road once or twice reassuring him that he was going in the right direction. But he also had to make sure that there wasn’t any deviation from the given course or if there was a chance that they have stopped at some point and walked into the forest with Stan. The possibility for that was high, after all he had no idea how criminals worked in this dimension anymore so he wanted to take every scenario into consideration.

Of course he was nervous. He saw phantoms everywhere. There were false movements in the corner of his eyes, and every shadow could be hiding a criminal. But he mostly dreaded stumbling upon Stan cold body in some random bush.

It was a legit fear, but he kept on trying to reason it away. Stan was a smart guy, he can remain safe until he arrives and zaps the living heck out of them with his stunt gun. But on the other hand, Stan also had the tendency to get on people’s bad side rather fast, who knows if he had already made that fatal mistake already. He was also afraid that he was too late. That Stan couldn’t buy enough time for him and the kidnappers already done away with him.

He did his best to not think about those possibilities. He kept his eyes focused on the ground and the grass and on generally anything that could serve as a clue of the possible whereabouts of those kidnappers and occupied his mind with analyzing the data.

Most of his findings let him conclude that the car that he was following didn’t leave the road as of now. Even so, on foot he couldn’t keep up with a four wheeled vehicle. The loyal Stanley Mobil brought him quiet far before it ran out of gas. But still he was too far behind.

Ford was moving as fast as he could, but he just couldn’t be fast enough without risk completely missing the lead. Thankfully, the track was stead, as steady as he could ask for. He had worked with less noticeable prints before.

He got this, he will save Stan, deal with the bad guys and everything would return to normal. Everything will be fine.

 

Stan was too tired. He couldn’t fight anymore. He didn’t have much energy to begin with; it was all used up in the fight in the parking lot then in his attempts to get out of the trunk. Now he was completely exhausted and he didn’t have anything to show up for his efforts.

It was just pathetic. He accomplished the impossible and brought his brother back, he survived the apocalypse, saved the whole bleeping world and then got back most of his most important memories which, according to Ford, was a miracle that it even happened. And this is what’s going to kill him: a locked trunk, some heavy chains and raising water level. Really?

But it was typical for things to go down on the deep end just when he thought that he is going to have his happy ending. He was going sailing with Ford for crying out loud! He was waiting for this literally his entire life. But just when he gets around to it fate decides to screw him over.

Which, what he had gathered from his memories, wasn’t completely a new thing.

But still. Stan didn’t want to give up. That wasn’t his way. Whatever happened he always pulled through let it be by sheer luck or thanks to his horrible stubbornness. But he couldn’t do it anymore. His arms wouldn’t move and he could barely turn around. All he could do was to lay there exhausted, waiting for something to happen.

 

He had no idea how much time had passed but he guessed it was getting closer to night time. The air that flowed in the hole started to become chillier and the water that was now reaching up to his ears was getting more freezing with every minute.

Thankfully, he also found out that he still had enough energy to shiver so there was that. It did mostly nothing though.

All Stan could do was to turn on his back the best he could and keep his head above the water for as long as possible.

He was long past the panicking point.

Panicking point was several hours ago when he still could mover, when he still believed that he would be able to burst the lid open with his knee caps. Now that was something that he had to add to his ever so aching body parts. At the moment it was all of them.

It was due time that he came to accept that this is going to be his fate. He hoped that Ford could find him, but he had to realize that this was an impossible task even for his genius of a brother. But everything is going to be fine; he did what he needed to do. He brought Ford back from whatever nightmare land he had accidently sent him, he sacrificed his own mind to save his dimension. He did something worthwhile in his life. He can be satisfied, happy even.

The thought that he won’t even get to see the kids ever again hurt. They made plans for all of them to return to Gravity Falls next summer and hole up in the Mystery Shack again. He could imagine their horrified faces when they learn that their great uncle had mysteriously disappeared one day and was never seen again.

Mabel would be broken beyond belief, he couldn’t even picture her little tear stained face and quivering lips. Dipper would be the same, but a little more controlled. The kid was always self-conscious about what he showed the world; Stan guessed it wouldn’t be much different with him as well. They weren’t too close, but he loved the kid nevertheless, he only wished that he had expressed it a little bit more.

It was easier to imagine what Ford would do. He wouldn’t accept his disappearance, he would continue searching until he either stumbles upon him or he is made to give up. He would be so devastated and the others, heavens, the other. Soos and Wendy and everyone who were so nice to him when he was struggling. They saw him as their hero, what would they do if the found out that he is gone?

Stan quickly chased away those thoughts. He didn’t need the guilt that it brought him. It is how it is, there is nothing he could do to change it now. He had a good run and everyone else would learn to live without him. They certainly could have gone about their lives when he wasn’t the town hero, so there are going to be fine, he is going to be fine.

He just had to close his eyes and think of happy memories. Going to a finally rest with those in his head would certainly be the way he wished to go. The shivering coldness around him was just a minor detail that he had never taken account for.

 

As time passed Ford was panicking more and more. The sun was setting and has already ducked under the mountain cloaking the whole forest into a glooming shadow. He still had some light left but the chances of finding Stan dwindled with every second. If he didn’t found him fast then this was it. In the dark he was unable to search and the kidnappers could use the time to do whatever they wished.

Why was this happening with them? After all that they have been through. A greater life filled with adventures and the unknown was right before them and then this happened. Were they ever meant to reach happiness? Or was this his punishment for his past arrogance since weirdmageddon didn’t quite wipe out all of humanity. It wouldn’t be too surprising.

He marched on forward with determination eyes fixed on the marks on the ground before him. At the end of the path lays his brother. He will find them, he was never this certain in anything like this one thing in his entire life.

Ford will find Stan and take him home. And when he was back in the safety of the shack and all his injuries treated Ford would set out again and search for those bastards as long as he had to and made sure that the last thing they see in life was the blue flash of his gun.

And that was if he didn’t found them with his brother. If he did, well, his job would be easier then.

Ford found that toying around with the idea of what he would do with the kidnappers gave him an extra boost to keep on going. He can’t be far. Ford wasn’t even looking for other clues anymore, it would just waste the little time he had. Following the marks he will be there in no time.

Until the marks were gone and all he was looking at was fine yellowish brown dust.

He lost the track.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it :)


	5. From Darkness to Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I forgot this morning what day it is and I thought I have missed a day. Now that's when your blood run cold, people. Luckily for me it was a false alarm, so I'm uploading this before I forget it for real.
> 
> (I'm not that satisfied with this tittle, to be honest, but it's good enough)

He lost the track. Ford turned around hectically. How could he lose it?! It was here a moment ago, it couldn’t just disappear.

How long had he been going on following whatever he thought was the right track? What if he had completely missed it? He turned back, retraced his steps and kept an eye out for fresh tier marks.

They were scarce to begin with. They only appeared where there was soft ground or sand to leave an imprint in. Otherwise it was hard compressed dirt on which the tracks hardly got preserved. Ford walked ahead in solid conviction that his objective had been before him. He forgot to take into account that the kidnappers may have broken off from the road and went to find a more secluded place for their plans.

How could he be so stupid? He is wasting precious time with going back and looking for the marks again. Time that could be spent by looking for Stan.

The air was getting chillier with every moment; autumn wasn’t waiting for them and was cooling everything down for the upcoming winter. Ford pulled his coat tighter around himself. The lights were nearly gone, only a couple of rays shined through the horizon and he had to lean closer to the ground to make sure that he didn’t miss anything.

Ford hated himself for making such a rooky mistake. He also dreaded what that mistake could have cost him.

But then, to the left, there were two identical lines of pressed down grass. They continued long in the forest where the car seemed to find a way to navigate between the trees. It was clear, easily noticeable and Ford didn’t hesitate to run after it.

He was certain that this was it. Why would anyone go into the forest otherwise if they weren’t trying to hide a secret? Ford ran past broken saplings and ruined bushes that the vehicle left behind as it fought its way across the forest. Not like this vegetation appeared to be any kind of challenge. The snapped braches pointed into the direction it was going.

Ford couldn’t be more grateful, after barely finding anything here was a path before him that was screaming ‘come this way!’

The path opened before him and Ford found himself on the shore of a lake. It was breathtaking, the shore was littered with rocks of various shapes and sizes and the trees closed the lake into a tight ring. The wind was blowing through the pines and the last rays of the day were glistening on the surface of the water.

Ford would have been eager to get lost in the view if he didn’t catch the sight of the back of a car poking out of the water.

He rushed into it the lake, the water was freezing cold and felt like it was cutting into him. But Ford couldn’t afford to care about that. The water reached to his hip when he got to the car, only the very back was still out, one break light missing and the water was slowly dripping in through the hole.

This had to be it.

“Stan!” Ford started immediately reaching for the lock. “Don’t worry, I will get you out of there just hold on!”

The lock was holding strong, however it was only a simple mechanism that would be child’s play for someone with tones of experience to get it open. Luckily Ford was that perdon.

He reached into his coat and digger around for a lock pick that he always carried around with himself just in case he ever needed it. He pulled it out and set to work. For a moment he was afraid that the lock might have been busted as the kidnappers’ last attempt at making sure Stan couldn’t get out no matter what. But the pick slid into the slit easily and Ford turned it around with as much patience as he could muster until he heard the fain clicking sound as the mechanism turned and the lock gave in.

 

Stan had no idea how long it would take for him to drown. The water level was reaching up to the corner of his eyes and he turned his head up so that his nose would be the last that would be submerged. But he doubted that it would take too long for the trunk to get finally filled.

He was crying for a time now, it was the only thing he could do in his situation, however embarrassing that is. But now he seemed to have calmed down. He had accepted his fate.

Stan was shaking; the cold was piercing through his whole body. He was freezing; he didn’t know what would kill him first, the drowning or the hypothermia. If only Ford was here. He would get him out in the blink of an eye and wouldn’t even break a sweat over it. The Stan would be back in the shack and he wouldn’t be able to go anywhere alone again. He wouldn’t mind, he would rather be baby sited if he could be at a place that he called home. Where everything was familiar and welcoming, not like this place that was making him lose the feeling hi his legs and arms and that was familiar in a way that he couldn’t exactly recall.

A feeling deep in his guts told him that this is familiar. He had been here before, but that couldn’t be. Stan was never in his life had been locked in the back of a car, or was he? He could particular feel the rope cutting into the edge of his mouth and rub against his wrist. But wasn’t he only bound with chains? He could also feel the heat on his skin, it was faint but it was there. He closed his eyes and he could swear he was there, stuck in the truck of a car in another life time.

“Stan!”

His eyes snapped open. Was that what he thought it was? Or was he so far gone that he was hallucinating things? 

“Don’t worry, I will get you out of there just hold on!”

Yes! That was Ford! He was here! He found him!

If Stan would have had the energy he would have started trashing around just to reassure his brother that he was indeed alive. All he could do was to cry in relief as he listened for the faint sounds Ford was making as he attempted to open the lid.

Just a little more and he would be free.

There was a click and the lid popped open. Then Stan looked at the face of his worried brother.

 

Ford felt like crying. Stan looked horrible; blood was drying on his face and in his hair. He could see bruises all over his face. The water almost covered him completely, if he was late just half an hour Stan might have been gone. He was gaged and… Was he chained?!

The worst was that Stan was crying and shaking. Stan didn’t cry since he was twelve. But now tears were openly falling from his eyes, whole body shaking from both the hiccups and the cold.

Ford pulled him up and Stan tried to sit. He didn’t know if his brother was capable of doing it, just by looking at him Ford could tell that he was dead tired. But he did managed to shift enough to find a position hold himself upright so Ford could work on getting him free.

The first thing to go was the gag, a relieved sob left Stan. “Ford…”

“Shh, shh, I got you don’t you worry,” Ford rubbed Stan’s shoulder reassuringly, but pulled away when Stan hissed. “Everything is going to be fine now.”

Ford started to search around his pockets. Among the many things he carried in his coat were some weapons that he insisted on having on himself at all time – nothing that he won’t be able to take with him with ease or he couldn’t smuggle across dimensions. It was fortunate that he didn’t get rid of them yet, and after this he doubted he ever will.

He pulled out an object that looked like a knife without any edge. It was black and had visible blue circuits running across its surface like it was a circuit board. The handle was off some soft material, it fitted into his hand perfectly with the exception of his sixth finger that was stuck on the edge. He pushed a blue circle between the handle and the blade and the knife emitted a low buzzing sound. Then a blue ray started to gradually appear forming a cutting edge.

This was a plasma cutter knife from dimension 247 and proved itself handy in many situations. It needed a little time to heat up, but once it does there is no earthly object that could stand a chance against it. In a couple of minutes the edge was glowing with a cyan blue light and Ford started to cut the chains off of his brother.

He worked carefully in fear that he would hurt Stan. The plasma cutter worked itself through the iron slowly but steadily. He avoided putting too much pressure on the chain in fear that the knife would accidentally slip. As slowly as it was cutting through solid mater it could slice through soft flesh twice as fast. The last thing he wanted was to add to Stan’s injuries.

Meanwhile, Stan was crying, but he didn’t care. He was sure that he would have to deal with a massive headache once he is done, but he can deal with that later. Right now he was just grateful and he wasn’t against voicing how he felt.

“I thought that- I… I die in there… I thought-” he said between the hiccups and gasping for air.

“You don’t have to worry about that anymore,” Ford tried to console him the best he could, but mostly he concentrated on his work. Stan was shaking so much that he made it more difficult than it should have been. But he couldn’t blame Stan for it; he must be freezing being all drenched. Even Ford was feeling the nigh’s chill.

“It’s- so… cold.”

“I know. Just a minute and I get you out of there.”

“Ford… I’m so- happy to-… see… you.”

“Me too,” Ford said looking up at his brother for a minute and smiled for him. “You don’t have to be afraid anymore. I’m here and I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“I’m- just… so glad.”

Finally the chains around his torso have fallen off. The one around his ankles were a bit easier to get rid of. It wasn’t as thickly tied as the other one and it only took five minutes for Ford to work his way through.  

Once done Ford turned off the plasma cutter and put it back from whichever pocket he got it. The blade was still hot but hopefully it won’t light his coat on fire.

Ford lifted Stan up and carried him out to the shore. As much as Ford would have wanted to prevent Stan from putting too much strain on himself, his brother was slightly heavier than him so he had to put him down once they were on dry land.

The moment Stan’s legs touched the ground he turned and trapped Ford in a hug.

Ford was surprised. Sure, they were on better terms now but Stan was never the touch-feely kind of guy. But after an experience like this Ford wasn’t surprised that he felt Stan still shivering most likely both from the cold and relief.

“You actually came… you’re h-here…” Stan sobbed into his shoulder. “I was- so- scared…”

Ford couldn’t stop himself from pulling Stan closer. Off course he was scared, Ford was too. He was too worried and too terrified to even think straight. He couldn’t even imagine what it was to be on the other end of that situation, being stuck in suck a small place, hurt and freezing with the water level rising. Stan probably had given up on the hope of ever being found.

He couldn’t blame Stan for having a breakdown.

“Why…? Why did- this ha-pen now, when… every-thing- was fine?” Stan continued on sobbing. “I-… thought- I would die in there… I tho-thought I won’t see you again… or the kids-… or any-one…”

Anger started rising in Ford as he grabbed Stan’s damp suit jacket. His own eyes started to sting with tears that he refused to let fall. He had to stay strong for Stan, they didn’t needed two old man breaking down in the middle of nowhere.

Still he felt the need to say something, if not for anything else to calm down his distressed brother. “It won’t happen ever again. I won’t lose you, not after I just got you back.”

It took him a while but Stan managed to calm down, his breathing evened out and stopped crying, Ford wrapped his coat around him to keep him somewhat protected from the wind but he still needed to get him out of those wet cloths. Sadly out here they didn’t had any possibility for that so Stan just had to bear with it for a little longer.

“Can you walk?” Ford asked. Still he supported his brother; he couldn’t stand on his ow. Those thugs really did a number on him.

“Y-eah.”

“Good. Come, we have to get back to the shack as fast as we can. We aren’t far away, uhm, probably.”

“You h-have no idea… where we- are, do… you?”

“Yes I do!” Ford said indignantly. “I’m just not one hundred percent sure.”

Stan snorted while Ford huffed. However, it was nice to hear Stan laugh, even if it’s small. He was still shaking and wet. They had to get back as fast as they could and get Stan’s injuries looked at. Ford started leading Stan back the way he had come.

Stan didn’t mind as Ford wrapped his arm around his middle to keep him up. At the moment he felt like his legs were made of noodles, all wobbly and stiff. He was grateful that Ford was there walking him through the forest. No doubt that they were miles away from civilization. But he didn’t want to care about that, he just wanted to feel alive, to feel the fresh air around him and forget that nightmare he just lived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stan was saved and Ford couldn't be more relieved, however there are still things to do. First they have to return home.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it, dear reader.


	6. Glad to Be Alive

It was so dark Stan had no idea where they were going. Ford insisted that they were on the right track. He could feel the concrete under his feet and the dim light of the moon let him know that they were on a road, maybe the main going to Gravity Falls. Not a single car had come across them, but that was expected for this town. The only car they saw was the Stanley Mobile that was sitting on the road. It had run out of fuel, Ford told him. And here he was thinking that he would get a smooth ride home.

However, leaving the El Diablo behind was worst then having to walk all the way back to town. Ford promised that he will have Soos tow it back to the shack, he would do it without a second thought.

Walking took a lot of energy out of him. In the last five minutes he had to rely on Ford completely to even get somewhere. He felt so useless, but Ford didn’t voice any complaint about his inabilities. Stan didn’t wanted to be a burden but walking got harder and harder progressively with every minute and he didn’t know how long he is going to be able to even stay awake.

He even started contemplating sleeping by the side of the road. That grass started to look really appealing. He hopped he hadn’t lost a few gears in that trunk.

Speaking of the trunk, it must be swallowed by now. The thought that he could be in there sent a shiver down his spine. That almost became his reality. He wondered if Ford would even be able to find his body if the evidence were gone from plain sight. Stan heard stories of authorities randomly finding cars in lakes only to find the remains of a long lost person inside.

Stan found his mind wondering to very dark places. Thankfully, the light of several flashlights’ put a stop to them.

Stan and Ford looked at each other, then at the lights that were coming closer. They were on edge, they didn’t know if these strangers were friends or foes, and here out on a scarcely traveled forest road anything could happen. If they turned out to be hostile Stan couldn’t do anything against them, but Ford was prepared to fight no matter what it would take. And if these were the same guys that kidnapped Stan then he had a lucky day.

However, as the group of unknown individuals got closer and closer they realized that there was no need for panic.

They were looking for them, alright, swinging the flashlights between the tree lines and down the road. The group called out they names. Some they even recognize.

“Mr. Pines! Dr. Pines!”

“Can you hear us?! Are you okay?!”

“Where are you?! Please answer if you can hear!”

They were the good guys! The people from town organized into a group and came looking for them. That was both touching and relieving at the same time.

“We are here! Hey!” Ford called out waving his arm in case it would help them get noticed sooner. He had to call out to them a couple time more until they could hear him, but eventually the lights turned down on the road and coming towards them. Some lights even turned up between the trees from those who ventured inside.

Soon both Pines twins were surrounded by familiar faces that were glad to find them. Turned out after Ford run off in pursuit of Stan’s kidnappers the local police forces (a.k.a. Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland) have found the crime scene, the spilled groceries and the tier marks that the Stanley Mobile left behind on Ford’s urgent departure.

Digging a little around they gathered that some individuals saw Stan’s car leave town in a hurry and got eye witnesses who saw Stan around the supermarket earlier the day and later Ford walking to said establishment. But when calling Mr. Pines on any number that was possible and even tried to contact Dr. Pines they couldn’t get hold of them. Next the Sheriff and Deputy drove up to the Mystery Shack and found the place how it was left.

Provided with the evidence they came to the logical conclusion that the Pines twins went missing.

Determined to treat the case as professionally as possible they called together search party in order to find the missing twins. Basically half the town showed up and was ready to start searching down on the highway where the car last was seen. How they wanted to follow a speeding car on foot Ford had no idea, but he wasn’t going to comment on it.

After half an hour of searching both the road and the forest one either side they managed to make enough noise to attract the supernatural. Luckily, the more friendly kind. Multibear, the gnomes and some Manotaur came inquire about what they were doing then joining their search.

Now everyone who could see Stan properly in the light looked at them worried.

“Are you alright Mr. Pines?” Sheriff Blubs asked even moving his sunglasses slightly down to get a better look at the old man.

Stan shrugged. “Ah, been better,” he said jokingly, but it was obvious to everyone that this wasn’t a joking matter. With these lights’ it wasn’t too clear but they still could tell that Stan’s face was covered in bruises and that Ford was the one holding him up. It was also apparent that he was soaked to the bone and was shivering from the cold night air.

“Yes, I can see…” the sheriff didn’t know how to continue. Luckily for him Multibear stepped out from the crowd and walked up to the Pines twins on his hind legs.

Once before Stan he extended two of his front arms. “May I?” he asked politely. His intentions were clear.

Stan looked up at him and hesitated for a moment, then shrugged and let himself be lifted up by the bear. If the circumstances would have been different the people might have even teased Stan about being carried bridal style by a giant mutant bear. Stan was small compared to the other and Multibear could carry him easily.

“Let’s return to the shack,” Ford ordered taking charge of the worried crowd that now that their objective was complete didn’t quite know what to do. “We need some warm place. I can take care of Stan’s injuries there.”

No body argued. They give way to Multibear who walked ahead the search parting along with Ford.

“Durland darling, call the other’s left at the Mystery Shack, let them know we are coming,” Blubs said walking not far behind Ford.

Some people were sent to stay at the shack in case they returned while the search party was around looking.

Durland made the call and Ford could hear the frantic voice of Soos on the other end. The guy was near panicking, he probably couldn’t handle the stress of having such an important person in his life disappear without a trace.

Oh yeah, that was a conversation that he wasn’t looking forward to have. How should he tell the guy that his father figure was kidnapped and almost murdered by unknown perpetrators? Heck, how should he tell the town? They still didn’t know, but seemed to have the decency to not to ask. However, soon he would have to tell them and he had no idea how they would react. Stan was their hero. The one who opened his house for them during the end of the world, who sacrificed his entire self to destroy the enemy, who they thought was gone in all but physically. How should he tell them what happened?

He tried to ignore that problem. He would think about it in the morning after he had taken care of Stan and had a good night sleep.

 

Ford was grateful for Multibear’s kindness; however he wasn’t going to leave Stan’s side just because he had found a new escort. He wasn’t going to let him out of his sight, especially not after he almost lost him. No, he remained dutifully by his side holding Stan’s hand for support. He guessed Stan needed him close as well. Although, he might never say it loud, or at all, he had a reputation to uphold after all. However, after such endeavors Ford was certain that nobody would mention if Stan let his soft side take over.      

Towards the shack the number of the search party dwindled. They all returned to their homes and rest. As they were sure everything was going to be fine now. If there were some whose curiosity might have kept them there, they quickly abandoned that idea and gave in to their tiredness. There wasn’t much more to do, they would only be in the way.

The gnomes and menotaur did the same. 

Once they reached the shack only the sheriff and deputy were with them who insisted on seeing them return home to safety.

Around the shack they were greeted with similar worried faces as before.

Wendy just arrived back as well from the forest with her friend in tow who she no doubt woke up to look around in the woods with her just in case. Seeing Stan they fidgeted around for a while, too nervous to get closer. Wendy shook her head and said something. They seemed to be relieved and left.

There were some adults strolling around as well. Sheriff Blubs talked with them and they as well left.

The shack’s back door was thrown open and Soos came running.

“Hey, big guy, could you put me down?” Stan looked up at Multibear who gently put him down on the ground.

Both Ford and Multibear let go of him although they were still concerned that he would collapse at any given moment. They were ready to jump at every little sway.

Stan, on the other hand, wasn’t concerned with his current status. He was more concerned with what’s in the mind of his former employee who just ran up to him and looked like he was about to burst into tears.

“Mr. Pines, are you alright?” Soos asked and lips quivering. “Who did this to you? Does it hurt? Do you need to lie down? I can get you something for you if you want? I bet you haven’t eaten anything the whole day.”

Soos was rambling on. It was obvious that he was laying all of his worries on Stan now that he was safe and sound. He looked like he was going scoop Stan up in a hug but he wasn’t sure if he should or if it would be beneficial for the old man.

Ford was standing awkwardly at the side not knowing what he should do. Clearly his brother wanted something but he was only standing there gently swaying back and forth as if he is going to fall in any moment. He was unsure if he should step in and take Stan inside. If he is going to do nothing then he might just do that.

It was as if Stan wasn’t even hearing what Soos was saying. The words were all blocked out by his own thoughts and the sight before him. The young man before him was an adult, but Stan remembered him being a little kid, barely reaching up to his waist and following around like he was going to unravel the secrets of the universe for him if he did.

Stan had almost no recollection of Soos when he was little. He knew he worked here and remembered tidbits here and there; he was the little kid that looked like it was Christmas if he could come to work.

He knew that Soos was important to him, even if he never showed it – at least he thinks he never did, but knowing him it might be true. Still, he cared, just from a distance.

Those informations given the past experiences got a whole new meaning and suddenly Stan was consumed by a whole other set of problem. He was conflicted with how his family would feel about him if he was gone while he was trapped, but coming face to face with it was a vastly different. While he was grateful for Ford saving him and he didn’t miss his opportunity to show it to his brother. But what about the others? What would Soos or Wendy do without him? How would he make sure they are fine?

Heck, what would HE do without them?    

Stan felt the urge to just hug the kid without any explanation. And, damn, he nearly died so he has the right to act however he wants.

Stan lunged forward, nearly tripped in his own leg, and locked his arms around the man’s shoulders.

Soos froze. He wasn’t sure what Stan was doing. He wasn’t really minding it, but Stan never hugged him, he had a few good words and prizes here and there but that was the most you could get out of him, but that was it. It was nice, really nice. He hugged back and let himself get lost in it instead of over thinking it.

Now Ford was really uncomfortable. He was cold and he could bet Stan wasn’t feeling any warmer. But he also didn’t want to interfere when Stan was having such an important moment with Soos. So he was just standing there shifting from one foot to another and looking anywhere but at them.

“I judge you are going to be fine from here,” Multibear said looking down at Ford. “I’m going back to my cave then. Have a nice night.”

“As well. Goodbye,” Ford waved as the Multibear walked back to the forest. Then he went up to Wendy who wasn’t standing that far, witnessing the hug with her arms crossed with smirk on her face.

“I would take a picture of this if my phone wouldn’t have run out of battery,” she said.

Ford chuckled. That would be a fine blackmail material, he thought. The kid was spending too much time around Stan. He said that she could go home if she wanted, but Wendy only shrugged.

Abuelita appeared in the open doorway and looked at the little group of four still around the shack.

“I’m going to make some tea,” she said a little louder than necessary and all of them understood that this was their cue to get in.

“Yeah, that would be great right about now,” Wendy let a shudder wash over her. The night was getting chillier with every day and she wasn’t dressed to run around at this time.

Stan let go of Soos and wiped the ‘dust’ out from his eyes. “That- would be nice.”

Soos helped him to stand properly and all four of them entered the shack in the promise of finding some warmth and calm after all the excitements of the day.


	7. Midnight Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now that they are safe and sound there is some explanation to do.

The moment they were inside Ford immediately steered Stan into the bathroom. He insisted on his brother taking a short bath to warm up.

Stan wasn’t against it. He had recovered enough motor functions to handle a bath alone so he shooed Ford out who wanted to baby over him. Stan reassured him that he is going to be fine and compromised to yell if he needed any help, a promise that he wasn’t about to keep but Ford didn’t needed to know about it.

Once alone he dressed down and opted to take a shower instead of a bath, mainly because it took less time and wouldn’t make such an enormous water bill. The other reason was that he wasn’t really sure how he felt about sitting in a tub full of water. Sure it would be nice to slip into the warm liquid heaven, but he was expected back for tea and he couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t doze off in there.

Also he didn’t want to risk the chance of being reminded of what happened a couple hours before.

He didn’t feel like he was on bad terms with water from now on. But he did spent half a day soaking in the trunk of a car. He wanted something different for a change.

So he turned on the shower and enjoyed the warm droplets hitting his skin. A shudder ran through him it was that good. Stan let himself enjoy it for a moment before he started to clean himself up. Quite the amount of grime had gathered on his skin. Whatever was swimming in the lake must have found their way into the trunk and into his cloths to cling to his body. It was really refreshing to scrub of every disgusting black specks that once were pine-needles or weeds, mindful of his injuries.   

Stan was glad to be back home.

After Ford had been kicked out from the bathroom he decided to go find the things he is going to need. He rummaged through the shack looking for a first aid kit – which he found easily thanks to his and Abuelita’s love of organizing – and some fresh cloths for Stan to wear once he was done. That appeared to be a bit of a challenge. Stan’s room was a bit of a mess and he had trouble finding anything that was a comfortable home wear. Soon he gave up and grabbed the first pair of pants he could put his hands on and a dress shirt and made his way back to the bathroom.

Walking on the hallway fatigue finally caught up with him.

Now that there were no bad guys to chaise or miles to trek home Ford couldn’t keep on going anymore. He really needed to lie down and have some sleep.

Although, he also noticed that there was a pang of satisfaction tagging along with the tiredness. Ford hadn’t felt this in a long time, as if he was after a good day of work and he was ready to fall in bed knowing that he had done everything he wanted done on that day.

He welcomed the feeling.

He frowned a bit when he heard the shower running. But he shrugged it off. Stan could do whatever he wanted as long as he got clean.

However Ford hesitated when he grabbed the door knob. He wasn’t sure if it would bother Stan if he entered on his privacy. But then again, Ford was going to act as his doctor so he kinda had to.

The shower stopped and he decided to swallow his anxiety and knock before entering.

Stan was still standing in the shower drying himself off with a towel. Ford stopped as he saw the black and purple bruises that were littering Stan’s body. There wasn’t a patch left free from the abuse, maybe his back, but Ford couldn’t see that. He also noticed how gently Stan patted himself down to not agitate the hurt flesh.

Anger raised in Ford, just like in the beginning of the day. He suddenly had the urge to go looking for those bastards and make sure they get a good experience of their own personal hell.

“Are you going to just stand there or are you going to let me dress?” Stan asked jerking him out of his thoughts.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

After a quick inspection Ford deemed that Stan could take on his underwear and pants as the bruises there were less sever and would heal quickly. The other, however, on his side and chest required more work; as well as his wrists and ankles that Stan had rubbed raw in his attempt at escaping. He rubbed ointment on the damaged areas gently.

Luckily, Stan’s face didn’t suffer that much damage. He did have a black eye and his nose did bleed at a time, but it wasn’t hurting anymore and thankfully wasn’t broken. The injury on the back of his head wasn’t life threatening either.

The most worrying, however, where the ugly bruises on Stan’s stomach. The danger of internal bleeding was very likely even if Stan had survived so far and walked without complaining. Fortunately, Ford didn’t forget to bring with himself a hand held scanning device that came to his possession a few dimensions over. This little computer was designed to scan the body for internal injuries, diseases, broken bones and for potential parasitic life forms that were quite common in that dimension.

What the scanner showed trampled any triumph Ford might have felt over Stan’s ‘light’ injuries. 

While Stan thankfully didn’t had any internal bleeding, he did have some cracked ribs that he would have to bandage tightly to make sure they heal correctly and he would make sure that Stan wouldn’t leave the bed until then.

He had no idea how he managed to even come this far without complaining. By experiment Ford knew how much a broken rib could hurt. It left him grounded unable to do much anything, and on the bad side of a dimension that was equal with a death sentence. All he could do was to crawl into safety and ride out the pain then move on.

Ford guessed that a possible explanation could be Stan’s stubbornness. He heard of people surviving in far worst shape.  

“Hey, Sixer,” Stan said after the bandages were on. “Thanks for everything.”

Ford smiled fondly. “There is nothing to thank me for. I did what I had to get you back.”

Stan laughed. “Heck! When did we get so sentimental?”

“Oh, shut up,” Ford pushed him playfully.

 

When the twins returned to the kitchen the promised tea was already done and had cooled enough to be drinkable. Abuelita also managed to make some cookies while they weren’t watching. Soos and Wendy were eagerly picking from the plate and chatting to get rid of the tenseness in the air.

They seemed to brighten when Stan and Ford entered with the younger twin fully bandaged. Ford would have wanted to tuck him into bed but Stan didn’t want to ‘leave the brats hanging’ as he had put it. So Ford helped him get there mindful of his ribs. Thankfully the pain has subsided thanks to the painkillers Ford had given him so he was feeling much better and that was showing on his face.

“Mr. Pines, are you feeling better?” Soos asked while kept from biting into the cookie he was holding.

“I felt like I have been hit by a truck! But good old Sixer here patched me up real good so I’m fine now,” Stan reached for a cookie. “Man, these smell really nice,” he eagerly started munching on it. That’s most likely was the first thing he had eaten since that morning.

Ford felt pride swelling in his chest. He took one cookie as well and was ready to enjoy the peace and quiet.

However, that couldn’t last.

“Alright, are you going to tell us what happened?” Wendy asked breaking the silence. “You don’t have to if it’s too soon. But we have to know. We were really worried.”

Ford looked at her and could see a determination that told him that there was no avoiding the subject. Beside her Soos was looking between the three nervously. He was both curious and fearful over what he is going to hear. By the side Abuelita was sipping tea quietly. It seems that she was the only one who could keep her calm in all of this mess.

Well, that much about peace.

Ford sighed. “What do you know?”

“The cops said that you two were kidnapped or something,” Wendy crossed her arms and leaned back on the seat. “People saw Mr. Pines’ car leave town in breakneck speed.”

Stan started shifting uncomfortable in his chair.

“So what happened?” she continued pressing on. “Were you really kidnapped by bad guys?”

Ford looked at Stan concerned if he should say anything. He doubted his brother wanted to talk, even if he was the one who knew more about what happened. But pushing t may be a bit too much.

Wendy noticed the discomfort. She tucked a stray lock back behind her ear and her expression softened into one of shame. “Sorry, shouldn’t have said anything. I shut up now.” 

“No, no. You have all the right to ask questions,” Ford reassured her. With one last glance at a nervous Stan he cleared his throat and begin in a professional manner. “I’m not certain about all of the details. What’s certain is that Stan had been attacked in the mall’s parking lot and taken away by the kidnapper’s car. Once I noticed Stan wasn’t coming home I walked into town to look for him. After I had discovered the crime scene I followed the trail they left behind. It was me the people must have seen with Stan’s car.”

“What happened after?”

It was Stan’s time to cross his arms and lean behind although his expression was closer to annoyed than anything else. “I got stuck in the trunk of a car,” he said bluntly surprising everyone. “Then the car was left in the forest. I was pretty badly beaten up so I couldn’t get free. It took Sixer the whole day to find me and half the night to get back here.”

“Forest? Then why were you all soaked, Mr. Pines?” Soos asked with the same fidgetiness he had been showing since the conversation started.

Ford wasn’t all that surprised that they could point out immediately where Stan’s story wasn’t adding up.

“It was raining,” he lied.

“No it wasn’t,” Wendy called him out. “Please, Mr. Pines, tell us what happened so that we could help.”

Stan bit his lip. He wasn’t going to answer.

Ford didn’t want to disregard Stan’s whish of keeping this buried six feet under and just forget about it. But the girl was right. No one could help if they kept this under lock and key.

“Well, he wasn’t exactly left in the forest per say. More like in a lake.”

They gasped, Soos’s hands cover his mouth, his eyes were wide just like Wendy’s. Even Abuelita put down her cup.

“How did you survived, Mr. Pines?” Soos had teats gathering in his eyes at this point. “Did Dr. Pines broke you out immediately and took you to the surface in a heroic diving rescue?”

“I wish,” Stan said sarcastically. That would have saved him from spending hours shivering in the dark.

“Actually the car was only half submerged with the water filling it slowly. I found Stan just in time before he would have drowned.”

“They weren’t doing an effective job.”

Silence settled onto the group. They sat there in uncertainty with the plate of cookies left untouched and the tea slowly growing colder.

Ford couldn’t really blame them for it. It wasn’t every day that a man that you know and loved almost drowned with agonizing slowness in the back of a car while your search was completely useless. He wouldn’t want to talk after that either.

Stan decided to end it by quickly sending down his cup of tea and taking another cookie. He said he was tiered and that he wanted to go to bed. Ford helped him get to his room.

The other three remained up a bit longer. Abuelita cleaned up the kitchen and put everything to its place. Soos busied himself with some repairs that were needed to be done. And Wendy called her father to tell him she is staying at the Mystery Shack for the night. Then she turned on the TV and took over the recliner to look at some boring late night show. Latter she fell asleep there.

When they really couldn’t stay up any longer Soos and his grandma went to their own rooms that they got when they started to move in.      


	8. Aftermaths and Schemes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The experience left it's mark on Stan and a few adjustments have to be made. Ford is doing his best to look after his twin, but he also has a plan in the making.

It turned out, as Ford expected, that things can’t be so easily brushed off as it is shown in the movies. The first night when Stan had returned home safely and Ford could tuck him into bed he left for his own room not too far from Stan’s. While he wasn’t really picky Stan had insisted that Ford needed to have his own room too, he couldn’t sleep in the basement forever, so they cleaned out and redecorated an unused guest room.

This now proved to be useful. If not here then Ford would have slept in Soos’s break room and would have been too far away to hear Stan’s scream of terror and a loud thud.

Ford being a light sleeper was immediately woken be the sound and was rushing into Stan‘s room. He found his brother on the floor sweating profusely and trembling, he was a straw away from crying. He had fallen out of the bed.

He must have had a nightmare.

It broke Ford’s heart to see Stan like that. It was like reliving the days after he had erased his brother’s mind when Stan had woken up often not sure where he was. Ford though that all of their hard work was for nothing in the terrifying first minutes. But in second everything came back to Stan and Ford would be so relieved when he was called Sixer or Poindexter. He would hug Stan then he would proceed trying to make some breakfast for them and the kids with little success, and with Stan trying to prevent a house fire while not even he was sure what he was doing.         

Stan never liked being seen as weak. He was always the strong confident conman the people knew and even when his memories deserted him he would play it easy and tried to keep control of the situation.

However, that was in the light of the day. The night was a different game. In the dark nothing would be seen by the weak eyes and secrets were made in the open welcoming night. In the dark the mask could come of and Stan could cry openly and no one would see, no one would hear, and more importantly, no one would mention it.

And Ford knew what discretion that night could provide. He could hug Stan and let him cry away the nightmare and calm him. Tomorrow his lips would be sealed. As long as he was concerned nothing had happened.

The day didn’t know what happened in the night. And in the night the rules of the day didn’t matter.

Nightmares, as it turned out, were frequent. The first weak after the incident was a constant string of interrupted sleeping hours and half nights spent comforting the hurt party. Ford always asked to be told what was that Stan dreamed about. Stan once told him, once bit his lip and remained silent, when he did that Ford rubbed his back and told him he could tell it when he was ready.

Although, Ford could guess what he was dreaming about. He experienced this himself after several bad encounters in dimensions here and there either by the hands of criminals and warlords or by the fauna that saw him as a tasty morsel that they couldn’t pass up. He knew well what it felt like to be on the wrong side of someone’s anger.      

The change was undeniable.

However, Stan was lucky he didn’t need to do it alone. He had an entire community backing him. Once they were saved by him and now it was the time to reciprocate by helping out where they could.

And so the Mystery Shack was never short of visitors. However, they weren’t tourists but the town’s people coming by bringing this and that and asking around for Stan.

“You scared us half to death, buddy.”

“We are glad you’re alright, here, I brought you some apple pie. Hope you like it!”

“How is your side, fella? Doing any better?”

Even Mayor Cutebiker took a break from his very important mayor businesses to come visit the shack like he used to back in the old days. He also asked around about Stan and if he should go to the hospital or the like. He said the people were worried and he is asking on their behalf as well. Ford calmed him and said that he is certain that Stan is going to be fine healing in a familiar surroundings, but promised him that he would take him in as soon as something happens, which, he again reassured, won’t be any time soon.     

It was so heartwarming to have so many people care for you. Stan sometimes was even moved to tears after one or two visits. Off course he had denied it and told them that there is some dust in his eyes, that this damn house is far too dusty. To which Abuelita answered that she just vacuumed, even if Stan still argued that he is right as he rubbed his eyes clean.

Ford was also glad that Stan had support and more importantly, company. While he himself hurried to be there for his brother he also had another thing he needed to take care off.

He needed to find the people that had done this to Stan. If they were still out there they could easily come back and try to finish the job. He couldn’t let that happen, he had to move before they could come up with a plan to hurt his brother again.

But here was the problem. Ford was terrified of leaving his brother alone. He was terrified that if he turned his back or even as much left the room for anything Stan would vanish and he would have no means of finding him again.

So Ford constantly went where Stan went. Which wasn’t too much since his injured ribs only allowed him to sit and lay down and nothing else. But he did get up every morning and tried going through his usual routine, now with a little help here and there. Then he sat down in the living room to watch TV or out on the porch to watch how Soos was handling the tours. Ford tagged along.

Only when the three little girls who Ford recognized as Mabel’s friends came to visit he was able to let his guard down. They said they wanted to play with Stan and since he is pretty much stuck to a chair they brought a few board games they could try.

Ford learned that that they were here in the shack during weirdmageddon and that two of the girls frequently visited in the summer. Seeing Stan genuinely happy seeing them also helped Ford to loosen up.

Now that Stan had found some quality company Ford was confident enough to leave him alone to work on the plan he had hatched to capture the kidnappers.

It wasn’t an easy task. Before he could even come up with anything he had to take a closer look at the car in which Stan had been locked in.   

First he recruited Manly Dan Corduroy and asked if he would be willing to assist in towing home the Stanley Mobile and the car that was sunk into the lake. He was more than happy to take on the task although he needed some people to help him with pulling the car out from the water.

They questioned Ford why he wanted to even do anything with that car.  

Ford only told them not to worry. Although he did tell them that he only needed to collect some information. He didn’t want to scare them or to do too much explanation.

The Stanley Mobile was the first thing to be towed back to the Mystery Shack. Luckily the old car wasn’t even touched ever since it was left on the road. It was either left ignored or truly no one walked on that path. They took it back and where kind enough to stop and refuel it on the way.

Next Ford lead Manly Dan and he few people they had helping into the forest. The rout once cut by the car was now overgrown by new flora. However the broken saplings showed the way.

If the lake side was beautiful by night then it was breathtaking by day. The wind gently traveled between the pines, rustling the leaves and steering up waves on the surface of the lake. The grass gently swayed in the breeze and the light glistened on the surface of the lake.

The recovery group took in the sight with awe and appreciation, although, a shiver ran through them when they remembered what took place here.

The car had completely sunk by this time. But Ford remembered approximately where he saw it last; it couldn’t be too much further from that point even if it had sunk deeper into the lake. And surly there it was. When he waded into the water Ford found it how it was left, sliding downwards and trunk wide open.

They hooked it up and started towing the thing out. It was so stuck in the muck and rocks that they needed the pulling power of two trucks to get it moving. Once free from its restrictions the car nearly rocketed out onto the shore.

Ford went up to it and opened the driver’s seat door and looked around, the rest of the people stood behind awkwardly not knowing what they can and cannot do in this case. However, Ford knew that there was no need for caution; the more delicate clues had been destroyed by the exposure to the elements already. No hopes for finger prints or hair samples. All they could rely on where those evidence left behind by the kidnappers that could possibly lead them to them.

The car however was perfectly empty with the exception of the muck and lake grime it had collected. He had noticed that the number plates were missing from both the front and the back, in conclusion the perpetrators had taken into consideration of being followed and got rid of them. How pleasant.

Ford opened the glove box without much expectation. Lake water poured out of the hatch as it was opened with grime. He searched around and found nothing.

“Golly, oh my,” Bud Gleeful suddenly gasped drawing attention to him. He had been watching the car with skeptical eyes, it was suspiciously familiar to him, and then suddenly he realized why. “I have seen this car before, Dr. Pines.”

“What do you mean?” Ford climbed out looking intrigued.

“Well, I had sold this car to two young gentlemen several days ago.”

Ford’s eyes shined up. “Do you think that you can describe these men?”

“I think I can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We have moved into act two, ladies and gentlemen!
> 
> There are three more chapters to go, and then there would be a small 'bonus' (more like a drabble) part that I'm thinking of posting separately.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed it so far and that you will return for the next chapter.


	9. Two Birds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The culprits are found, but before anything could be done Ford decides to finally ask the hard questions.

The description given by Bud Gleeful was more useful than any pesky clue they could have dug up. Those two made their mistake the minute they decided to make a purchase at a local salesman.

They found then shorter than two weeks with the help of several private eyes hired by both the Northwest family and Old Man McGucket. They did a wonderful job. They had to for none of the parties would have been happy with pouring so much money into top notch privet detectives and have them turn up with nothing. 

The kidnappers were found two states over living the big life in a rather expensive hotel. It was a surprise that they were this well of.  For a moment Ford even considered the possibility that they have done this to Stan just for the ‘fun’ of it. The thought was quickly diminished when he decided to ask Stan about what he knew.

Until then no one thought about bothering the victim of the crime. Frankly, Ford would have loved nothing more than to leave Stan out of this for his sake. He didn’t even knew why Ford was gone the last couple of days, he either figured that there were some business to take care of and he didn’t wanted to pry into his brother’s privacy.

Ford appreciated this discretion, more so because then he didn’t need to admit to what he and half of the town were up to.

However, he needed to know exact details if he was going to confront his brother’s kidnappers. So Ford took it upon himself to ask Stan about that faithful day.

For this he decided to ask on a perfectly casual evening when he and Stan were sitting out on the porch and were drinking pit cola.

“Stan, can I ask you something?” Ford started. They were sitting on the old couch enjoying the silence. Ford felt bad for disrupting it. “If it’s not too personal.”

Stan took a sip from his drink. He had been doing so much better since the accident. The nightmares have subsided; he didn’t have one in two days straight. His injuries have healed nicely, the bruises were almost completely gone, his head was doing fine and so were his ribs. He could now walk around without almost any problem. Although, this couldn’t be said about his mental state.

In the mind Stan was healing slower, but that had to be expected. The nightmares were still the same and as much as he tried to deny it Stan had more issues than just not sleeping well. But he kept these things carefully locked away and he never mentioned them.

However, Ford noticed things. He watched Stan closely and saw how he filched away time to time, random noises made him jerk and, at the same time, he couldn’t stand the silence. But mostly what was hurting him the most was when he was left alone. Let it be day or night if there wasn’t any other living being in the room with him he would go still, he would pay more attention to any noise and any movement that might occur. He anticipated someone’s arrival and with each moment he grew anxious, paranoid even.

But as Ford noticed the bad, he saw the good as well. He was happy when he got visitors, even if after a time he pretended to be annoyed by them. So Ford made sure that he had someone with him when he was away. That also calmed the panic that would arouse when he was left alone.

The nightmares, although, were a much harder thing to combat, Ford did notice that Stan was sleeping much better with someone in the room. He wasn’t tossing and turning like when he checked up on him. So Ford set up a routine for himself to go into Stan’s room and sleep on the floor.

While his brother would have been outraged by this, he didn’t know and didn’t found out for two weeks now. Ford could always get up before Stan and he didn’t complain about the floor boards digging into his side. He had much worse and he made sure to catch a few hours of sleep in a real bed during the day.

Now Ford feared if he would accidentally worsen Stan’s situation by bringing up the subject.

The incident was never directly mentioned ever since the night he had brought Stan home.

“Ask right away.”

Ford bit his lip. He wasn’t sure how to go about this. “Can you… tell me what happened when… when you were kidnapped?”

As if a switch had been flipped Stan’s happy demeanor turned to something unreadable, a mask he pulled up when he didn’t wanted to show his emotions but wasn’t appropriate to smile. “You know everything there is. I was jumped, beaten to a pulp and left to drown in the back of a car.”

“Yes I know that, but-”

“Then there is nothing else to talk about, really.”

“Stan,” Ford started but stopped, his brother wasn’t ready to open up and if he pressured him it would be harder. He felt the need to sigh. Asking directly leads nowhere, so he had to approach it from a different angle. “I want to know what happened when you were attacked. Please Stan, I’m worried about you. It would be good to get things of your chest, in the sake of your recovery.”

This didn’t seem to convince him.

“It would make me sleep easier as well,” that was his only trump card, if it didn’t work he would have to give up and get the information out of the targets with methods that may or may not be illegal in this dimension – he really should look it up.

However, Stan bit his lip, his gaze wondered from Ford to the backyard then back again.

“Only if this remains between us.”

Ford felt like dancing in victory. But he had to play it cool or else Stan could change his mind. So he only let a small reassuring smile settle on his face. “Of course. I understand you don’t want to appear weak in front of them.”

Ford nearly slapped a hand on his mouth. He didn’t mean to let that slip, he just only wanted to reassure his brother.

“That’s not the reason why-… well, yes it is,” he admitted defeated, but that protective tone returned when he continued. “But I also don’t want them to, you know, worry that much, I guess.”

“You guess?”

“I know that they have been nothing but nice to me, but it still feels kinda strange.” Stan looked down at his hands that now were both holding the can with this guilty expression on his face. “It’s like, I get nervous and such. I don’t get it why. So I don’t want to make them concerned more than they had been. They had enough of that, first with me losing my memories then this.”

He shook his head a little, Ford had no idea what that wanted to communicate.

“I can understand,” Ford said on a soft voice as if he was afraid he would startle Stan.

“I just want everything to calm down already.”

“That’s reasonable.”

Silence settled between them. Ford was afraid that this little spill of emotions was too much for Stan and that he wouldn’t want to continue. If that was the case Ford wouldn’t push him further. He looked conflicted enough with his own feelings as it is. But then Stan took a deep breath, let it out and started.

“It happened after I was done with shopping,” he said. “You probably know that, yes?” he asked leaning back on the couch and glancing at Ford.

“Whit the mess they left, yes,” Ford found a new position as well, he turned to face his brother and let his elbow rest on the arm of the furniture as he too leaned back.

“They uh, one of them… uh, hit me,” Stan started rubbing the back of his head; Ford got the implication and nodded to let him move along. “And I fell, and then they beat me up, I was easy prey.”

“Do you know why they attacked you?”

“I have no ide-… actually yes. They did it because they were told to. Paid to? That I’m not sure about.”

“Paid?” Ford echoed. That would explain what they were doing now in a fancy hotel. Someone paid them big money to take care of Stan. “But who would hire them?”

Stan shrugged. “Dunno’. I don’t remember much of the past, it could be anyone.” He paused for a second then looked straight at Ford. “They mentioned someone named Rico. Do I know any Ricos?

Ford was slightly surprised. Where these people actually so stupid to give out the name of their boss? Or where they just enough confident to spill the beans without fearing any consequences. “I don’t know for sure. But are you certain about that?”

“‘Ya sure can regret messing with Rico way back then.’ That’s what he said.”

That was really interesting. “What happened next?”

“Nothing much. They chained me up, put me in the back and we were of to who knows where.”

There wasn’t really anything else Stan could tell him not even if he wanted to. However, Ford felt like what he heard was more than satisfying. Now they had a name. Whoever this Rico guy is he would have to answered for his deeds, and they just had the perfect people to get them in contact with.

Next day Ford called together the people into the town hall to decide what their next move should be. It was fiercely debated if they should get the authorities involved or should they go in and do everything on their own.

Contacting the police would have been the right thing to do, but if they did so they would take the case off of their hands and who knows what they would do afterwards. As civilians they can’t get involved in such matters. Also this was more of a revenge mission then a get-the-bad-guys-behind-bars type of thing. So the police were crossed off the list.

They got moving that day to catch the kidnappers while they still could.

However, the chance to pounce came sooner than they anticipated. The night they have arrived to the hotel was the night when those two decided to leave. They jumped before the criminals could even reach their car.

Ford couldn’t help but smile at the irony of that.

They brought their captives to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of town. No one had seen them and no one had followed. Ford couldn’t have asked for more.

The two former kidnappers were tied down into two fold out chairs that they have brought with themselves. The rope with which they had been bound tightly held them perfectly fine, although some wanted to use chains, but that would have been over kill.

They looked so pathetic, shaking in their chairs, terrified out of their minds as they were surrounded in the dark room of the warehouse by not to threatening but spiteful faces.

They resisted first of course, even if they were outnumbered and the chance for escape was slim they weren’t about to give in to small threats. And who were them to deny their wishes. All they had to do was bring in some of the Menotaur. They cracked their knuckles and showed off their perfectly muscled bodies to get them to spill every bit of information they had to offer about the infamous Rico, their boss.

The answers were satisfying, but not enough to get them speared of what fate they had in store for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter feels a bit rushed i know, I just wanted to get these two out of the way to get to the fun part. Next chapter we are going after Rico, now that's going to be good.


	10. Bad Day to Be a Criminal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rico knew he had many, many enemies. However, what he got himself into was more then what he bargained for.

Rico had been watching his back for five days straight now.

He wasn’t stupid neither ignorant. The moment he had heard the news on TV that two wanted criminals had been dropped off at a police station bound and heavily beaten up he knew there was something going on. On TV he immediately recognized their mug shots. Those where his men. And when the men of a gang leader are beaten up chances are they are coming for the top dogs not for the little fishes. This was an obvious warning.

Rico was convincing they were after him. After his recent fallout with an old partner that was expected.

Just to test the waters Rico dismissed his men and he left the motel he had currently occupied. He spent the last day and night a town over. He wanted to think that he was only paranoid, but sadly, or luckily in his case, his fears came true.

The owners of the motel called the police when one of the rooms – aka his room – was found with its door busted and windows broken, yet nothing was touched and no further damage was discovered. That was an obvious raid, who know what would have happened if he was found there. Nothing good, he could tell.

Luckily, Rico was thinking and took everything important with himself when he skipped town. So there was no need to return to the motel. He was certain that it is watched anyway.

To escape from his pursuer he decided to move to another state. He even broke contact temporarily with his men in case they could find him through them.

Thing were going good so far. There was no suspicious activities, no raids, no strange people following him, nothing. This silence went on for two weeks and Rico was starting to get pretty confident about his hiding place. So confident in fact that he had decided to take up contact with his right hand man.

Turns out they while he was away a job had come in and apparently it was big. As surprised as he was Rico was also intrigued by it. He was told that some rich family had contacted them asking for the service of their boss. They only knew that they wanted to get rid of a ‘bothersome’ man who had caused much grief to them and some other folks. They also offered such a big sum that it was irresistible, like honey for a fly.

His guts told him that it was a trap. They requested meeting with Rico in person, and this date would have lead him to Oregon suspiciously near to a small town where his guys who got beaten up and now are sitting in jail were last at, taking care of an old nuisance.

But money was tight and he wasn’t able to make much of it in the last days. The cash that these rich losers offered for some sucker’s head was too good to be true.

So against his better judgment he packed his things got in his car and headed to the spoken location.

He would forever come to regret his decision.

Driving though the forest at night he stopped before a clearing to get some shut eye when he noticed something was awfully off.

Rico paid close attention to his surroundings. Not a single car followed him once he left his temporally hideout, no suspicious movement, no cops chasing after him and no shifty eyed men who could pass as a private eye or a look out in search for him. Just to be sure he had taken a longer road. He was confident that he would get to the meeting point in the agreed time so he wasn’t too picky about it. All he could care bout were the crisp dollars that his new clients could offer him, if he could he would certainly bleed them dry.

Then as he settled for a sleep in the reclined seat of his car he noticed something. Something that he didn’t had chance to see in the darkness and in the shrieking wind that passed his car.

It was quiet, unnaturally quiet. The night critters remained uncharacteristically silent, usually by now he would hear an owl hooting or the wolves howling. Preys were quiet when they can sense a predator around.

Rico sat up and looked around. Here on the clearing he could be easily be spotted by anything that might be lurking around. He hoped that the car would provide some protection; however, he couldn’t help the uneasy feeling that came over him when he looked over the tree line.

Nothing happened for a while, but that only fueled his anxiety. He swore he could hear things like twigs snapping and growling that was loud enough to reach his car.

They seemed too real to be just the wind.

Rico would not admit it that he the brave gang leader who stood his ground in shooting and gang fights, the man who survived prison countless time, was scared of the dark. Yet here he was sitting in his car peering out the window and feeling as if thousand eyes were watching the back of his neck.

Then what he feared happened. Bulky shapes started to appear in the shadows. They came from the bushes and from behind the trees, and they were gigantic each probably twice Rico’s size.

He didn’t know if he was just seeing things, that these were only the tricks that his tired mind made up. He couldn’t take his eyes off of them. Was this real? Or was he hallucinating?

The rational part of his brain told him that he is too tired, just ignore them and go to sleep, he needed it. But the more aver part of him told him to get the hell out of there if he didn’t wanted to become the chew toy of some bear or something.

He was torn between what to do, on one hand he was really tiered and just wanted to sleep on the other he was terrified of the shadowy figures a couple hundred feet away from his car.

Soon, however, the decision was made for him.

One creature stepped out of the tree line. In the dark Rico couldn’t take a good look at it, but he knew that the creature stood on its hind legs and had what appeared to be multiple heads with each set of eyes glowing in the light of the moon.

That was enough to set Rico panicking. He jumped up not even caring that his seat was reclined; he started up the car and drove away as fast as he could. He didn’t dare to look back.

Rico drove until he couldn’t keep his eyes open anymore; he was still deep in the forest who knows where. He wasn’t even sure if he was on the right road anymore, he made some turns here and there. He might have been entirely off track, but he was too tired to even care. So he stopped and lay back down on the seat finally closing his eyes after he checked that the doors were closed and the windows pulled up. He was out like the lights in five minutes.

Next thing that he knows is that he is waking up to a soreness in his neck.

Rico groaned as he opened his eyes. He realized that he couldn’t move. The familiar hold of rope on his wrists and body set the alarm bells off. But when he opened his eyes all he could see was darkness.

He tried not to panic although he knew he was in deep trouble. His pursuers had finally caught up with him and captured him while he was vulnerable. And here he was thinking that he had escaped from them, they were probably watching him for weeks waiting for him to make a mistake. Rico cursed himself for not seeing it before. This job must have been part of the plan to get him out from his hole and into their greedy claws.

He shoved down the anger towards his own stupidity and quickly got to work. He had to get out of his bonds before the bad guys could return.

But he was too late. Rico heard a door open but no light came into the room. He could assume that was only because it was dark outside as well. Rico’s eyes weren’t used to the dark yet he could see nothing, but he sure could hear the footsteps of what he guessed where his captors. How they could see in the dark was beyond him.

But turns out they couldn’t. He heard someone trip.

“Au! My foot!”

“Sorry.”

“Watch your step will ya.”

“I said sorry! Who could see in this dark anyway?”

“Guys, now’s not the time!”

“Sorry!” the two bickering parties said in unison.

That somehow took the edge of the situation as Rico become more confused than scared. Who were these doofuses that managed to capture him, and more importantly should he fell ashamed over it?

Suddenly a flash of light assaulted his vision. A light bulb had sparked to life right above him and a man was standing before him who had come back straight from the death.

Stanley Pines stood before him in all his glory with a straight back and head raised high. He was surrounded by people who Rico couldn’t quite make out in the dark; the concentrated light only illuminated him and Stan. But from there it appeared that some of the bigger dudes had horns coming from their heads.

But Rico couldn’t focus on that, he had eyes only for the dead man before him.

“This cannot be,” he shook his head. “I had you killed! How are you still alive?!”

Stan raised an eyebrow at his sudden anger. He seemed taken back, then as if remembering something his eyes widened. “Oh, I understand. Sadly you are mistaken, _Rico_ ,” his voice was much more deeper then Rico would have expected it to be, and the way he said his name was full of spite as if he had murdered a loved one or something.

Then it dawned on him.

“I’m not Stanley Pines.”

This guy looked so much different than the nuisance he met in prison. He stood taller, had darker hair then the old man he saw on the photo handed to him by the guy he tasked with finding Stan. Different glasses would have been a giveaway too if Rico would have had eyes for details. But the biggest difference was screaming right at him when his eyes traveled down to the clenched fists of his captor. He had six fingers.

“Who the heck are you?” Rico asked with clenched teeth.

“I’m his twin brother.”

Rico felt like cursing. Who would have thought that Stan had a brother, one that apparently was some sort of gang leader, possibly dangerous with that cool demeanor that he wore to mask his feelings.

“What? You come to avenge your dear brother?” Rico spat. “Don’t get me wrong, but he was looking for trouble the minute he crossed me. He should have seen it coming.”

Momentary anger flashed on the man’s face before he quickly collected himself. However the others weren’t so self-conscious and let their open hatred show on their faces. Rico could feel their glaring eyes on him.          

“I don’t care about what happened between you and my brother. We are here to make you pay for what you have done. You remember what happened with your pals, don’t you?”

Rico paled. So it was them who beat up his boys and sent them to the police with a bow on top. They were the ones driving him into hiding; maybe they were even the ones who made him run until he almost passed out. They were after him for weeks. Weeks! All of that for what?! To avenge a lousy good for nothing coward?!

Anger flooded his brain; he gritted his teeth so tightly that he felt like they would crack. But he knows better than to let it spill over. However he didn’t know any better than to not open his mouth at all.

“Why?” he asked, it sounded more like a hiss than an actual question.

“Excuse me?” the man asked back as if he didn’t hear him.

“I want to know why?” Rico said as calm and collected as he could, but everyone could tell that the anger was boiling over. “Why do you care for that waste of space? When he was on the streets no one even knew that he had a brother! And now you tell me that you care now that he is dead! Well, let me tell you something! He deserved everything he got! I hope he died a slow death! Because here is the kicker, he would have got it either from me or from someone else! One way or another he would have died!”

Rico let his anger take a hold of him, but frankly he didn’t care at the moment, he knew he was going to die anyway. There was no way that a man with such power at his fingertips would let him live after he ordered his brother to be killed. That cursed, bastard Stanley, he keeps on screwing him over even in death.

The hard look on the gang leader’s face only told Rico that he was right.

The man lifted his head higher, the light reflected off of his glasses making it impossible to read his expression. The room grew quiet, not even the taping of nervous feet could be heard, but Rico could feel all eyes on him. He felt weak, vulnerable at the mercy of those who he had just pissed off. The chances of coming out of this alive were zero.

“You will regret what you did,” the man said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that's all for the action part, one more chapter to go that's basically the closing part and we are done here.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it.


	11. Done and Over With

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stan has a nice game with Mabel's little friends, meanwhile he is wondering what is going on that they don't tell him.

It was another usual day playing with the girls in the comfort of the shack. On every other day Candy, Grenda and Pacifica came around bringing a game or two to play with him. They seemed to get along really well, ever since they have been stuck together in the apocalypse.

As nice as it was to have company Stan wasn’t quiet buying everything that they were selling. First he was really skeptical about the girls’ decision of coming over and playing with an old codger. There was little he could contribute to their conversations even if time to time they tried to involve him as well. As he got better his option of activities grew. But the kids still came visiting now and then and Stan found that he didn’t mind it that much.

He also found other things to enjoy. In the days restricted to the recliner Stan had nervously introduced Abuelita to The Duchess Approves and to his joy she grew to like it very much. He had also been caught up in Soos and McGucket’s anime sessions, which was admittedly the strangest experience in his whole life.

Also he had realized that there was something much more was happening around here.

Stan wasn’t stupid. He might not be the sharpest tool in the box, but even he could tell that something was going on. Stan noticed how when one or two people appeared suddenly Ford was nowhere to be seen. He chalked it up first to paranoia as he was more nervous when Ford wasn’t around. And eventually he would get home before it was too late. So Stan didn’t mention it thinking that it was some nerdy thing that he was invested in.

However, things become more suspicious as Ford came home later and later every time. One night he was even incapable of going to sleep because he didn’t saw his brother return from wherever he went.

Stan didn’t want to mention it since he didn’t wanted to seem as he was accusing him of something. Also he was babied enough already, he didn’t wanted to bother them, not even Ford.

As he was playing with the girls Stan was thinking about these things and so he was gradually losing in the game. Any other day he would be bothered by it but today he just didn’t really care. And it seems like it was showing on his face because soon he found himself looking at three worried little girls.

“Mr. Pines, is everything alright?” Candy asked.

“Yeah, you look kinda sad,” Pacifica said, the look of worry even after weirdmageddon was quite uncharacteristic on her.

Stan faintly wondered what they knew. Surely the knew that he was injured; they wished him well countless times. But that didn’t mean that they were familiar with every detail.

“We can get another game if you don’t like this one,” Grenda was already grabbing the board ready to unearth the little figures on top.   

“No, no, it’s fine,” Stan quickly intervened before Grenda could destroy their progress. Stan noticed how fond the girls were bout this particular game and he wouldn’t make them play any other. “It’s not the game that’s bothering me,” he finally admitted.

“Then what, Mr. Pines? Tell us and we will take care of it!” Grenda said while flexing her muscles. Stan chuckled as he had no doubts that the surprisingly strong little girl could take down anything.

Candy seemed amused by the idea also while Pacifica just rolled her eyes. “Come on girls, it’s not like we can do anything, we are kids and all.”

“Well, maybe you can help after all,” Stan smiled when they looked up at him with curious eyes. “My brother nowadays has a knack for disappearing on me, and I don’t know why. Any chance that any of you know something?”

They looked at each other than shook their heads.

Stan sighed. “I thought so. Thanks anyway.”

The girls sheared a quick worried glance.

“Don’t be sad, Mr. Pines,” Candy started. “We might not know where your brother goes, but we certainly can find out.”

“Yeah, we can search for clue! It can be like an episode from Ducktective!” Grenda joined a little too enthusiastic.

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” Pacifica regarded her friends with a judgmental look.

However much Stan might have wanted to interfere the kids got too railed up enough to stop anyway. He guessed they could drop it when they got bored or something. So he dutifully gave out the mission and warned them to not tell anyone who entrusted them with such an important task then sent them home because it was getting late.

Ford arrived just as they had packed and the girls shot him a suspicious look before running out the door eager to talk about their strategies and plans.

Needless to say Ford was very confused and Stan couldn’t help but laugh at the face he was making.

“What got into those children all of the sudden?”

“Kids,” Stan playfully shook his head. “Who knows?”

Ford knew that his brother was in fact aware of what the girls were up to, he just simply didn’t want to include his twin into it. He didn’t mind it. It was so relieving to hear Stan laugh after everything that had happened.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Stan asked. “I feel like I’m starving.”

“I will go look for something in the fridge,” Ford offered turning to walk to the kitchen.

“Abuelita left us some sandwiches. She is out visiting someone I think.”

Ford could hear his brother saying that as he moved to open the fridge. Sure enough the delicious looking sandwiches were neatly prepared for them on a nice flowery plate. Ford took it gratefully and went back to the living room. While he was gone Stan had turned on the TV and sat back to his usual place in the recliner.

From the door Ford immediately recognized that the channel Stan had turned on was airing the late news. He stood there anxious of what he might see and watched Stan closely in case something was triggered.

The news announcer then vaguely presented a curious case of a tied up criminal found before a police station. Ford recognized the mug shot shown on the screen. However, looking over to Stan he could see that while he looked puzzled he was also generally disinterested in the whole thing and was watching it with a bored expression.

Satisfied with the reaction Ford took a seat on the T-Rex skull and put the plate on the recliner’s arm. Both him and Stan took one sandwich and waited around patiently for the news to be over and start to enjoy whatever show the channel had to offer.

Meanwhile Ford enjoyed how good revenge tasted.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this we are officially finished, I hope you all enjoyed it.  
> Tomorrow I upload the bonus chapter in a separated fic, I will talk more about that there.
> 
> Thank you for reading and reviewing : )


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